Hallo from Watton Norfolk UK

K

Keith Patrick

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Hi, I'm Keith, recently moved to Watton Norfolk and looking to have a G scale 'feature' in my garden. Now I am not too sure about this yet as it involves spending money and my wife is never too happy about me doing that on my little interests, so I am starting off right in the bargain basement. I used to live in Spain, well, still do actually but what with Brexit and getting old that is due to end later this year. In my garage in Murcia I had a lovely 00 set 3m x 3m which I modelled myself using cardboard, bits of wood, sand from the beach and plaster of paris. Unfortunately I had to dismantle it all last year but its all there and maybe when I get it back to the UK it could find a new home in my new garage.

I've always wanted a garden railway but 00 seemed always to get lost amongst the weeds and the rails corroded awfully. They did in Spain too due to the humidity. Now you guys will think I am really cheap but, so far, I have opted for an experimental Lionel G Scale set that runs on plastic rails and makes delightful choo choo noises as well as whistles and bells. It arrived just after Christmas from California and I have already sent for and received some extra track to make running it a bit more worthwhile. I propose to paint the carriages myself in some colour other than the ghastly pale blue they come in, but the loco is OK and maybe just needs a new name. 'Polar Express' in East Anglia sounds a bit pessimistic although at present (January) it is not entirely out of place. I have someone coming to landscape my garden in February and I have designated an area which will accommodate the set up by what will be the patio so that people can watch the trains pass as they sip their sauve blanc in the summer. Well probably only me actually. I have loads of wood left over from the new summerhouse with which to make stations and other buildings. I have no idea where to start so any help/suggestions would be very welcome. As I say I am doing this on the cheap (he says!) but who knows what it will grow into. My wife always reminds me of the £20 garden pond I was going to build which cost over £200, not counting all the koi carp eaten by the cat and the heron.....
 
You must have some idea where to start, you've joined on here; that's a good start. Ask and ye shall receive! All questions are answered eventually with plenty of banter and wit thrown in.

Welcome!
 
Welcome to GSC, Keith!

There are all sorts of ways to get started at reasonable prices, and you'll find a lot of great advice and help on here - but if (or more like when) you get really hooked, then it can start to get very expensive unless you have a LOT of willpower..... ;)

Jon.
 
There's a growing number of us here in Norfolk.

I can recommend a garden railway - you can tell yer missus that the trains will never get eaten by the cat or a heron. The locals call them Harnser, they're not sure of the origin of the name, apart from one story which goes, that a city gentleman was down from London on a visit, when he saw one of the birds, and turning to a local man said, 'I say, what's that bird?'

To which the local man replied, 'That's a Har'n, sir.'

NFN :D:D:D
 
What's willpower and where do I get some from?
 
I know I've said it before but I am always amazed that Bernard Matthews built up such a successful turkey business when you consider his original advertising slogan 'Norfolk and good'.

David
 
Welcome to the forum Keith. Do not be flustered by the guys with big train sets. What satisfies you is what matters, small can be beautiful and a bit of scratchbuilding of Rolling Stock and Buildings can create your own magic. Plants can be learnt about and small cuttings of the right plants will soon make theirselves welcome. Good luck with your endeavours. Have a good look at this indoor small railway site, many of these lines could be built in a small place in the Garden. Just the ideal thing to start the ball rolling at minimum expense.

http://www.carendt.com/
 
Welcome Keith.

We all start somewhere and if you are good at painting stock, you just might surprise us with your railway....
 
I usually advise newcomers to start with a starter set, it gives you a small oval of track, transformer, controller, loco and wagons for far less then you could buy them individually. You can get them for £200 or less if you look hard. Go for DC/analog rather than DCC at this stage. (If you don't know what that last sentence means just ask.) This will give you an idea of the scale and help you decide what you really want. None of this will be wasted expense, even if you eventually don't like the loco or rolling stock you can sell them easily here or ebay. Even if you eventually go for battery / radio control an analog controller is always useful and the track is the same regardless.
 
Zerogee said:
Welcome to GSC, Keith!

There are all sorts of ways to get started at reasonable prices, and you'll find a lot of great advice and help on here - but if (or more like when) you get really hooked, then it can start to get very expensive unless you have a LOT of willpower..... ;)

Jon.
Click to expand...
G-force1 said:
You must have some idea where to start, you've joined on here; that's a good start. Ask and ye shall receive! All questions are answered eventually with plenty of banter and wit thrown in.

Welcome!
Click to expand...
 
Rhinochugger said:
There's a growing number of us here in Norfolk.

I can recommend a garden railway - you can tell yer missus that the trains will never get eaten by the cat or a heron. The locals call them Harnser, they're not sure of the origin of the name, apart from one story which goes, that a city gentleman was down from London on a visit, when he saw one of the birds, and turning to a local man said, 'I say, what's that bird?'

To which the local man replied, 'That's a Har'n, sir.'

NFN :D:D:D
Click to expand...


Haha! NFN! I am learning to talk very slowly in a sort of demented way already. Oi gart a garden rileway in moi oom.....

THANKS FOR THE WELCOME!
 
idlemarvel said:
I usually advise newcomers to start with a starter set, it gives you a small oval of track, transformer, controller, loco and wagons for far less then you could buy them individually. You can get them for £200 or less if you look hard. Go for DC/analog rather than DCC at this stage. (If you don't know what that last sentence means just ask.) This will give you an idea of the scale and help you decide what you really want. None of this will be wasted expense, even if you eventually don't like the loco or rolling stock you can sell them easily here or ebay. Even if you eventually go for battery / radio control an analog controller is always useful and the track is the same regardless.
Click to expand...

I got the Lionel set for $75 plus postage plus tax. I like the loco but the carriages need some upgrading. I wd like to put a light in the carriages for night time too. I'll keep people posted as the layout gets going!
 
Welcome Keith a trip to Bressingham might be of use, it's just up the road from you, they have a 16mm club based in the Steam Museum, and a good garden railway show in August.
 
Bressingham is on the list of local railway attractions. Took the kids there years ago and enjoyed it immensely. My extra track arrived today from the US and there is more of it than I thought. And at sale prices!
 
Welcome to the madness Keith
 
Welcome to the forum Keith.
There is a growing crowd of G scale madness up there in NOOrfourk.
There are also quite a few layouts spread over Slowfolk (Suffolk) and Norf Essex.

The G Scale Society is a national group with local divisions. Just go to the G Scale Society website (http://gscalesociety.com) and you can find out more about possibly joining (only £19) and all of the divisional areas local to you. There is also good links to info, dealers etc etc.

Best thing to do when you start is to visit as many other similarly afflicted soul's layouts as you can. You get tons of ideas and also make personal contact with people who were in your position once.
 
David1226 said:
I know I've said it before but I am always amazed that Bernard Matthews built up such a successful turkey business when you consider his original advertising slogan 'Norfolk and good'.

David
Click to expand...
In a similar vein an American lady friend of mine went to Norfolk college and as a cheerleader said their standard refrain was "we don't smoke, we don't drink, Norfolk, Norfolk, Norfolk".
 
Welcome aboard Keith.
 
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